Editorial: Children’s participation in youth justice: Actions speak louder than words

The adage ‘actions speak louder than words’ is used in this special edition to emphasise the point that there needs to be much more of a focus on how children’s participation is translated into policy and practice. For instance, the terms child first, child participation, children’s voice, and co-production are used interchangeably with little thought as to what they mean for youth justice practice ‘on the ground’. The papers in this issue critique models of youth participation and offer insight into how professionals can embrace children’s voices in youth justice and wider services. This special issue includes articles which provide critical reflection on participatory practice in working with children in justice services, empirical studies on participatory research with children, practice-based papers focusing on the key components of relational practice, and international evidence that draws attention to the challenges of, and enhances the debate around, the power dynamics in research processes involving children in youth justice systems.